Primed Numbers
by isis-sg1
Summary: After a very very bad day Shawn gets into trouble... with no way out
1. Chapter 1

"Good morning, good morning," Shawn exclaimed loudly as he entered the Santa Barbara Police station. "Hey Sal, Mike," he greeted a couple of busy police officers as he walked past them. He smiled and stepped over to a nearby desk "Hey Anita, you're looking lovely today," he complimented. The woman on the phone waved hand at him but barely looked up from her desk. "Ookay," Shawn said at the brush off.

Not one to be discouraged, he spun round and strode over to Juliet's desk. "Beautiful day, don't you think?" He asked her.

"Hmm?" She hummed as she read a report.

"Sun's shining Jules."

She frowned and looked up at him, "This is Santa Barbara, doesn't the sun usually shine here?"

"Yes well, it's shinier than normal," he explained. She rolled her eyes and went back to her report. "Looks busy around here," he commented as his eyes scanned the large room. Officers were rushing around with papers and folders in their hands and phones were constantly ringing.

"Yeah," Juliet answered distractedly.

"You wouldn't possibly need my help, would you?" Shawn's eyes focused on the report she was reading. "The Peterson case maybe?"

She looked up with surprise, "How did you know about that? The press doesn't even know yet."

"When are you going to stop being surprised at my psychic abilities Jules?" He shook his head.

"Where's your shadow, Spencer?" A voice asked from behind him.

Shawn rolled his eyes as he leant on the edge of Juliet's desk, "Me and Gus aren't joined at the hip Lassie… In fact he encourages as much time apart as possible."

"Figures," Lassie sat back down at his desk. "I'm surprised he manages to last as long as he does with you."

"And what it that supposed to mean?" Shawn asked with mock indignation.

"It means I've already spent too much time with you today."

"Well I was going to help you solve the Peterson case, but I might just keep my psychic vibes to myself now."

"Please do," Lassiter retorted.

"Fine," Shawn folded his arms across his chest and moved away from the desks. "But you'll regret it," he added. He only walked a couple of steps before he stopped and turned back around.

"What?" Juliet asked. She, who normally enjoyed Shawn's dramatics wasn't in the mood for it today. The Peterson case was a complicated one with lots of witnesses, suspects, evidence and theories and Shawn's distractions weren't helping.

"I'm waiting for you to say '_No Shawn! Don't go! We need your brilliant mind to solve the case for us! You're my hero',_" he said in a high pitched girly voice

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't talk like that?" She asked in annoyance.

"At least once more," he smiled.

"Mr. Spencer!" A familiar voice shouted. "Stop distracting my detectives before I arrest you for obstruction of justice!" Vick shouted across the room.

"Come on Chief!" Shawn made his way to her. "Can't I help?"

Karen placed her hands on her hips and gave Shawn a stern look, "If we needed you, we would have called you. Please stop trying to worm your way onto cases because you're bored. I might just accidentally forget to call you next time we do need you." She threatened with as raise of her eyebrow.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Shawn knew when he'd lost a fight and backed down. "Okay." He held up his hands in surrender. "I get it, you don't need me."

"Or want you," Lassiter added.

"But you'll call if you change your mind?" He asked hopefully.

Lassiter snorted, "Don't hold your breath"

Shawn sighed. He'd been hoping to get on the case but it didn't seem like they were budging on this one. His shoulders slumped and he slowly trudged out of the police department, ignoring the smug face that he knew would be on Lassiter's face. He stepped outside and looked up. The beautiful sunshine that was there when he'd entered the building had disappeared behind dark grey clouds and it looked like it was about to rain any second.

"Great," he mumbled. He hated to ride his bike in the rain. He trudged down the steps and made his way to his bike just before the heavens opened on him.

"Gus!" Shawn shouted as he entered the Psych office. He was completely drenched from the rain and was hoping that his best friend could cheer him up. He could swear he'd left some pineapple cake in the mini-fridge and that cake had his name on it. "Gus!" He shouted again.

"What!" Gus snapped.

Shawn stopped and turned to his glaring friend. "Everything okay?" He asked.

"No it's not okay…are you wet? Stop dripping everywhere."

"I can't help the dripping Gus." He moved towards the mini-fridge and yanked the door open. There was an empty shelf where he'd left the cake. "Hey, did you eat the cake?"

"Yes I ate the cake," Gus admitted sans guilt, "And I think I deserved it considering you pulled me out of a lunch date for a case we didn't even have yet!"

"I'm sorry, Gus."

"I don't think you are," Gus followed Shawn as he sat at his desk. Gus stayed upright and towered over Shawn. "So?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Shawn frowned, "So what?"

"Did you get the case?"

"Don't need us apparently," Shawn shook his head. He lifted his feet up onto the desk and leant back in his chair, "I used all my Shawn charm and nothing worked."

"What?" Gus asked, his eyes widening. "Are you telling me that I left Tina sitting in that restaurant because you called saying it was an emergency, I rushed here, find you missing and then you come and tell me that you didn't even get the case?"

Shawn nodded, "That's exactly it."

"I don't believe you Shawn."

"What?" Shawn didn't know what was wrong.

Gus snapped, "This is the last straw."

Shawn frowned, "But we still have a whole box of twisty straws." He pointed to the box on top of the mini-fridge.

"This isn't a joke! You can't keep doing this Shawn! You can't keep playing with me like I'm some toy. Every time I'm on a date, it gets interrupted by you because of a case or you want to accuse her of murder," Shawn opened his mouth to interrupt but Gus carried on. "You break into my house while I'm sleeping and eat my food, you buy stuff for the office which we can't afford, you get us into dangerous situations, I've seen more dead bodies than I ever wanted to see and you've jeopardized my job more than once…..You take advantage of me Shawn, you call me because you'll know I'll come running and I'm fed up of not having my own life because you're always there messing it up!" Shawn's jaw dropped. "You're always thinking about yourself, screw everyone else!" Gus took a moment to breath, Shawn stayed silent, shocked by his friends outburst. "Just…don't call me for a couple of weeks" Gus finally said.

"But..." Shawn finally spoke, "What if we get a case?"

"I don't care…I'm tired…I need a break from all this."

"I can't do it without you."

"That's your problem Shawn, maybe if you could handle it on your own I wouldn't have been dragged into this in the first place. It's about time you got used to doing things on your own…Now I'm going to find Tina and apologize, don't bother calling to apologize, I won't answer," Gus said before picking up his silver case and storming out the office.

Shawn looked at the empty desk in front of him in shock. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Sure Gus got mad at him all the time, but never to the point that he ignored his phone calls. His feet fell from the desk and he leant forward. He was a wild spirit, someone who did what they wanted when they wanted and didn't care what people thought of him. If Gus wasn't there to reign him in, who knew what he would end up doing?

He'd spent months before halfway across the country but even then Gus was just a phone call away the reign him in or laugh about his antics.

He was pulled from his reverie when his cell phone ran. He dug into his pocket and winced as he pulled out the wet cell phone, the screen a funny colour from the water.

"What?" He answered.

"Will you stop answering your phone like you don't have a grasp of the English language," the voice requested.

Shawn sighed, "Dad, not now."

"Yes now," the older man replied, "I need you to come over here."

"How about later?" Shawn tried.

"What part of _now_ didn't you understand, Shawn?"

"Fine," Shawn said and hung up the phone before Henry could say anything else. Shawn stuffed the broken phone back into the wet pocket and pulled himself upright. He pulled on his helmet before trudging outside, climbing on his bike and setting off towards his dad's place.

Shawn entered his childhood home without knocking and dumped his helmet on the nearest table. "Dad!" He shouted.

"Up here!" Shawn followed the voice up the stairs and looked up the ladder standing in the middle of the hallway.

"What are you doing up in the attic?" Shawn asked.

"Doing something I should have done a long time ago," a muffled voice replied. "Get up here!"

"Are there spiders in there?"

"Stop being a wimp and climb that ladder!"

Shawn shrugged and climbed up the ladder. He stepped from the ladder onto the wooden floorboards in the attic and let his eyes adjust the weak light. He looked down and spotted a pile of boxes that had been set aside. "What are those?"

Henry appeared from a large pile of boxes, "That's your junk."

"My junk?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Well what do you want me to do with it?"

"I don't care; just get it out of my house."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I only brought my bike," Shawn explained.

Henry's eyes widened, "You rode your bike in this weather?" His voice began to rise "Do you know how stupid that is? You could have had an accident!" He shouted.

"But I didn't!"

"That's not the point Shawn and you know it." Henry moved past Shawn and began descending down the ladder. Shawn followed him.

"Well how else was I supposed to get here?"

"Get Gus to drive you, you normally do."

"Me and Gus aren't exactly…talking right now," Shawn admitted.

"What did you do?"

Shawn took a step back, "What makes you automatically think that I did something?"

"Because that's what usually happens," Henry made his way downstairs, Shawn not far behind. "So what did you do?" he asked again.

"I'm getting out of here," Shawn sighed. He definitely didn't want to talk about it. He turned away from his dad and began walked towards the back door.

"Go on then, run like you usually do," Shawn stopped and slowly turned around. "It's what you're good at, isn't it?"

"What would you know?" Shawn snapped. He'd practically been thrown out of the Police Department, Gus had shouted at him and now wasn't speaking to him and now his father was having a go.

"Oh, don't do that, don't act like I was some terrible presence in your life Shawn. Your sob stories about your deprived childhood don't work with me remember? You wouldn't have your silly psychic job if it wasn't for me and this is the thanks I get?

I'm sick of you acting like I'm the devil Shawn. Grow up."

Shawn tried not to let his dad's words get to him but he failed miserably. He swallowed hard and stared at the floor. "Can I go now, or do you want to pick on me some more?" He asked quietly, all the fight he had in him gone from the long day of people getting their kicks in.

"Just go Shawn," Henry turned away from his son. Shawn nodded; he turned on the spot, grabbed his helmet and rushed out the door as quickly as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

Shawn swerved into his parking spot and pulled himself off the bike. He kicked the support down angrily and then stomped off down the sidewalk towards his apartment. He slammed his apartment door and threw his helmet down on the couch. He paced for over ten minutes, to angry to do anything else. He'd had the worse day imaginable. He was still damp from the rain, his tight jeans sticking to him like an uncomfortable second skin, his phone was broken, which meant he'd have to get a new one, everyone at work was too busy for him or threatening to arrest him, even Juliet seemed to barely tolerate his presence.

"_It means I've already spent too much time with you today."_

"_Don't hold your breath."_

"_Stop distracting my detectives before I arrest you for obstruction of justice!" _

He was still reeling from Gus' outburst. Gus had gotten angry at him in the past, but never like this. Shawn shook his head, his mind unable to forget everything Gus had said to him.

"_I'm fed up of not having my own life because you're always there messing it up!" _

"_You're always thinking about yourself, screw everyone else!"_

Then after all of that, his father had hit a nerve or two as he recited more from his list of_ things about my son that disappoint me._

"_Go on then, run like you usually do, It's what you're good at isn't it?"_

"_I'm sick of you acting like I'm the devil Shawn. Grow up!"_

It seemed like no-one could be bothered with him anymore, he was just a huge annoyance in everyone's lives. He just got in the way of everything and messed everything up.

He brushed a hand through his short hair and then rubbed his tired eyes. He took a quick shower to warm himself up and the dressed himself in some dry clothes. He looked around his small apartment and sighed. It was nothing to be proud of. The kitchen had been barely used apart from cutting up pineapple and making cups of coffee, the living room consisted of a cheap old couch and TV that flickered in bad weather and his bedroom was cluttered with dirty clothes, books, CD's, a guitar, bits of reminders from his travels and a surfboard which poked out from under the bed.

It seemed the old good thing in his life was Psych and he couldn't even go there at the moment. Sitting at the office with nothing to do would just remind him that he had no work and his best friend wasn't speaking to him.

Suddenly he realised what he had to do. He scrambled over the bed and pulled out his old duffle bag. He pulled clean clothes from the closet and stuffed them into the bag. He ran into the living room and pulled a thick book off the meagre bookshelf. He opened up the hollowed out book and pulled out the stash of money. He'd seen it in a movie once and had decided it would be the perfect hiding place for his money. The wad of cash got plashed in an envelope in the bottom of his bag along with other important items like his passport and his signed autograph of Mary Steenburgen.

Finally once everything had been packed, he turned off all the electricity in his apartment he took one last look at his apartment. He wasn't going forever, just a couple of weeks. Just enough to clear his mind and give everyone he'd been annoying a break.

"Guess you were right dad," he said to the empty room, "I do run."

He made one quick stop at his landlady's apartment to get her to keep his mail for him before he exited the building, slung the bag over his shoulders and climbed back onto his motorcycle. He revved up the engine and without a second thought, drove away.

Shawn was nearing the outskirts of Santa Barbara when he looked down at his bike and cursed. He hadn't checked how much gas was in the bike before he left and now he was running low. He pulled into the nearest gas station, jumped off his bike and began filling up.

"Hey watch it!" Daniel snapped as his brother Adam spilt his soda on the floor of the van.

"M'sorry, Danny," the younger man mumbled.

"It's okay," Daniel sighed. He pulled into the gas station and turned off the engine, "Just don't do it again." The pair climbed out of the van and Adam watched as Daniel began filling up the van with gas.

"Hey look!" Adam cried. Daniel looked over where Adam was pointing. Standing by a classic motorcycle was a man that Daniel recognized. He'd seen him in the newspaper numerous times after he'd solved various crimes, "It's him, it's that psychic!" Adam jumped up and down. Daniel calmed his brother down with a firm hand on his shoulder.

A smile formed on Daniel's lips as a plan began to form. Seemed like the psychic had appeared just at the right time. "Wanna meet him?" Daniel asked.

Adam's eyes widened, "Really?"

Daniel nodded, "Sure." He looked over at the psychic, "Hey!" He shouted, catching the man's attention. "Over here." The psychic frowned warily but slowly made his way over to the pair.

"What can I do for you fellas?" The man asked.

"Can I have your autograph?" Adam asked.

"A couple of fans, huh?" The man smiled, "Sure, you got a pen and paper?"

"In here" Daniel opened the back of the van. Daniel watched as the man neared the open doors and before the psychic could resist he pushed the man as hard as he could into the back. The man tripped up, too shocked with surprise to stop himself from falling. His head hit the metal floor with a clunk and he fell unconscious.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked.

"Getting us a hostage," Daniel explained calmly as he slammed the doors shut.

"A hostage?"

"The police won't risk _his_ life just to stop _us_, now get in the van before someone sees us." The pair climbed back in the van and drove out of the gas station at speed, conveniently forgetting to pay.


	3. Chapter 3

Gus casually made his way to the counter and ordered his non-fat half-caff late. For once he wasn't in a rush. Having two jobs always meant that he was running from one to the other with barely enough time to do either. Of course, Shawn always monopolised what little time he did have. This was the first morning in a long time that Gus managed to sleep in, have time to get a cup of coffee and get to work on time.

"Gus!" His head spun round at the familiar voice and he smiled gently at the older man as he entered the shop.

"Mr Spencer." Henry joined him at the counter and ordered his own black coffee.

"When are you gonna call me Henry?" Henry asked, paying for his coffee. The pair walked to a small table and sat down.

"The day Shawn passes the police academy," Gus answered, taking a sip of the hot liquid.

Henry looked around, "Speaking of, where is he?" Gus shrugged. "Come on Gus, wherever you are, he's not far behind."

"Well uh, you see-"

Henry raised an eyebrow, "You too still haven't talked since the fight yesterday?...I've never seen you two angry at each other for this long." Henry thought back to all the fights the best friends had had. None had lasted longer than a couple of hours. No-one could stay mad at Shawn for very long, not even him.

"I asked him not to phone me for a week." Gus hung his head guiltily.

"Gus," Henry shook his head.

"I know. I completely blew up at him. I'd had a really _really_ bad day and I said some things, quite a few things actually. I tried phoning him yesterday evening to apologise but I got no answer. I think I really hurt him"

"You're not the only one kid. I said some things to him yesterday too"

"I guess we've both got some serious grovelling to do."

"That's if we can find him, swung by his apartment this morning, there was nobody home."

Gus frowned, it was still early and Shawn was known for being a late riser. "Maybe he slept at the office last night, I'll stop by before work and see if he's there." Henry nodded. Gus rose from his seat, "I'll call if I find him."

"Likewise," Henry replied and then watched as his son's best friend disappeared out the door.

Shawn's eyes flung open as a loud bang of a door being slammed shut woke him. He tried to sit up and winced from the dizziness it caused and he was instantly reminded about his head injury. He squinted in the darkness and scanned the room for any clues to where he was. A sliver of light from underneath the door was his only light source and barely lit up the dusty floor in front of him. His fingers tingled from the tight duct tape holding his hands together and he could feel the same tape holding his feet together. There was no way of escaping from the tight bindings. Handcuffs, however, were a whole other matter.

He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and leant his back against the nearest wall. The wall was cold and it sent shivers down his spine. In the silence, his mind tried to remember what had happened. He remembered Gus and his father shouting at him, he remembered packing, pulling into the garage and then…. He closed his eyes and shook his head but no new memories surfaced.

He opened his eyes when he heard footsteps. The door swung open and Shawn winced as the bright light hurt his sensitive eyes. A hand grabbed a handful of shirt and pulled him to his feet.

"Who are you?" Shawn asked. The man didn't answer. Shawn was pulled from the room and into a larger room. It looked like a workshop of some kind. Electrical wiring, pieces of metal and wood littered surfaces and rusty shaving and nails covered the concrete floor. A single exposed bulb lit the room and the harsh light highlighted the cobwebs and cracks in the ceiling.

"Who are you?" Shawn asked again.

He was answered by a fist in the face. Shawn's head swung back by the force and he heard his neck click painfully.

"Shut up," the man snarled.

"I'm sorry, don't know how." It probably wasn't the best time for Shawn to be insolent, but he suspected that he had a concussion and he always had trouble keeping his mouth shut when concussed.

Another punch to the face was his reward for speaking. "Adam," the man shouted. Shawn spun his head round and watched as a second man timidly entered the room.

"What is it, Danny?" The man asked.

"Get me the tape. I need to shut him up fast." Adam nodded and returned a second later with the silver tape. A section was ripped off and placed over Shawn's mouth. "Much better," Danny admired his work. Shawn glared at the man as he began breathing through his nose. Danny walked over to a workbench and lifted a newspaper off the top. He through it to Shawn and it landed on his lap. "Hold that up," he ordered. Shawn picked up the newspaper with his bound hands and held it up.

"Now," Danny picked a Polaroid camera off the workbench, "Say cheese!" He laughed before taking Shawn's photo.

Detective Lassiter lifted his arms up and placed them behind his head before leaning back in his chair. He sighed happily. "This is the life."

His partner Juliet looked up from her own desk "What is?"

"No Shawn Spencer," he explained.

"Ah," She nodded in understanding. "I like having him around," she shrugged, "Makes things a lot more interesting around here."

"There are enough weirdo's sicko's and murderers out on the streets making life interesting enough, without Spencer adding to the mix," Lassiter growled Shawn's name.

"Detective?"

Lassiter looked up and glared at the interruption. "Yes McNab?"

Buzz waved a plain brown envelope, "This was dropped off at reception. Doesn't say who it's addressed to."

Lassiter sighed and held out his hand, "Give it here." Buzz handed over the envelope before walking back to his desk.

"What is it?" Juliet asked.

"What, you think _I'm_ psychic?" He ripped open the envelope and emptied the contents onto his desk. A single letter and a photo dropped out faced down. Lassiter picked up the photo curiously and turned it over. His eyes hardened at the picture.

"Carlton?" He didn't answer her. He picked up the letter in his other hand, rose from his desk and strode across the room. He burst into the chief's office without knocking.

"Detective!" Chief Vick admonished. He dropped the photo and unopened letter onto her desk without explanation. Her eyes widened at the photo and she immediately opened the letter. Letters cut out from newspapers were pasted back together into words.

"We have planted a bomb in Santa Barbara. Give us two million dollars and we will disarm it. If you don't give us what we asked or try to disarm the bomb, it will go off. If you try and find us, we will kill the psychic," Karen read aloud.

"This is not good," Lassiter spoke.

Karen looked up from the letter, her eyes landing on the photo of the psychic bound and beaten up, today's paper in his hands. "Get Henry Spencer on the phone!" She ordered.


	4. Chapter 4

Henry stood in front of the whiteboard silently. A copy of the photo plus the note had been stuck up for everyone to see. He ignored the bustle happening behind him as half the police department worked on finding Shawn.

When Karen had phoned him an hour earlier the last thing he expected was to hear that his only son had been kidnapped and was being held as collateral for couple of hooligans ready to blow up half of Santa Barbara.

He didn't remember hanging up on Karen and dialling Gus' number but he must have because Gus had managed to arrive at the station just before him.

His jaw hurt from clenching his teeth and his whole back ached with an uneasy tension. His eyes couldn't avoid the photo of his son. The blood on his forehead from a head injury and a bloody nose spoke of beating or two and he rubbed his wrists, as if it were him that were taped up. He looked dirty and tired and the look in his eyes told Henry he knew how much trouble he was in.

He felt someone come up and stand beside him and he didn't need to look to know it was Gus.

"How are you doing?" The young man asked.

Henry turned towards Gus. "Wishing it was me and not Shawn," Henry admitted.

"Then he'd be here looking for you."

"Yeah." He plucked the photo from the board, "But he'd see some detail in the background and find a location faster than I ever could." Henry rubbed a thumb over the photo. "I don't see anything," he growled in frustration.

"Has the lab found anything off the letter yet?"

Henry shook his head, "These guys are too clever for that."

Gus nodded dumbly. He was never good in situations like these; he never seemed to know the right words to say.

"They'll find him."

"Before or after they send us one of his fingers in a box?" Henry snapped.

Gus turned queasy at the thought. "I was just-"

"I know Gus." Henry placed a large hand on Gus' shoulder "Thanks."

"Henry, Mr Guster," Karen interrupted their moment with a wave of her hand, beckoning them into her office. The pair gave each other a look before following the Chief. They sat down into the two empty chairs, barely acknowledging the presence of Lassiter and Juliet.

"We know Shawn's bike was missing from his apartment," Juliet began, "so we had patrol car's on the lookout for it. We finally found it abandoned at a gas station on route 5 out of Santa Barbara."

Gus frowned, "That's on the outskirts of the city, what was his bike doing there?"

This time Lassiter spoke, "We found a bag with the bike; it contained clothes, money and a few other belongings."

Henry looked to Gus "He was skipping out on us," he realised.

"But why?"

"Think about it Gus, you lay into him, them I have a go at him-"

"We weren't exactly nice to him yesterday either," Juliet admitted.

"He thinks the world is out to get him, so he does the only thing he knows how to do in that situation."

"Runs," Gus finishes.

Lassiter cleared his throat, "We have security camera footage from the gas station." He picked up the remote and pressed play. Five heads turned towards the television screen and watched as Shawn's bike pulled into the gas station. The fuzzy black and white video showed Shawn filling up the bike before something off camera caught his attention. Gus could just about see a smile on his face as he leaves his bike and walks off screen.

"That's it?" Henry asked.

"It's an out of the way gas station with barely any business to keep it running let alone crime. I'm surprised they even had a camera," Lassiter explained.

"Explains why his bike wasn't stolen," Juliet added, "It's being transported back here as we speak," She added.

"So what happens now?" Gus asked. It was hard being the least qualified person in the room.

"There's not a lot we can do," Karen explained, "We have no idea where the bombers have taken Shawn. All we can do is be on high alert, we have increased police presence at the airport and train stations, bomb sniffing dogs out and about in highly populated areas and Shawn's picture distributed around Santa Barbara and the surrounding areas in case anyone has seen him."

"The bombers will need to make contact again to give us a drop off point for their money, we might be able to get more from that," Lassiter reassured.

"It's not enough!" Henry rose from his chair "My son is tied up somewhere, hurt and alone! If he was here right now-"

"Well he's not, is he!" Lassiter opened his mouth before thinking about it.

Henry turned red from anger and clenched his fists tightly until his fingers turned white. "Mr Spencer," Gus spoke.

"I'm going outside for some air before I do something I'll regret," Henry snarled before storming out of the room.

"Could you have been any less tactful?" Gus asked Lassiter before following Henry.


	5. Chapter 5

Two large hands grasped Shawn's shoulders and pulled them back until his back protested, his moans of pain were muffled by the tape over his mouth. The hands held him as more tape was wound around his body, taping him to the chair. Finally and knife was brought out. Shawn's eyes widened at the large rusty knife and only relaxed slightly as they used it to cut the tape hold his hands together. His fingers tingled as the blood rushed back into his hands. The tape holding his feet together were also cut and new tape held his feet against the legs of the chair leaving Shawn with zero chance for escape. He had more chance of tricking Gus to the Mexican border again.

Danny reached forward and ripped the tape off his mouth with a flick of his wrist. Shawn gasped and sucked in a lungful of air. Breathing through his nose always made him feel light headed and it took a couple of deep breaths to stop the dizziness.

"Why did you take me?" Shawn broke the silence in the room.

Danny turned around and stared at Shawn, "You tell me, psychic."

Shawn gave a half shrug "You want something…you're not going to get money for me. I'm not worth much."

Danny took a step forward, "You're just our back up plan….in case things don't work out like we hoped."

Shawn frowned in confusion, "What things?"

Danny took another step towards Shawn, "I've planted a bomb, we get 2 million dollars and we tell the police where it is. We don't get our money, I blow up half of Santa Barbara."

Shawn's eyes widened, "What do you need me for then?"

"Well for one, having you here slows the police down considerably."

Shawn swallowed hard, "And the second?"

"Stops them from looking for us," Danny smiled and it sent shivers down Shawn's spine. "They find us, you die," he said bluntly.

Shawn barely had time to process his words when, Adam, shuffled forward. Shawn wasn't sure whether it was learning difficulties or brain damage but Adam's mental age was a lot lower than his actually age and he seemed to be taking all his directions from Danny. Shawn wondered if Adam even wanted to be a part of it or just didn't know anything other than doing what his brother said.

Adam whispered into Danny's ear and Shawn wished he had taken lip reading lessons years ago, it seemed more and more cases required the need to know what people were saying to each other. Danny nodded.

"Might as well," he said to Adam with a shrug, "He has no other use at the moment." Shawn raised an eyebrow; it was obvious that they were talking about him.

"Okay Psychic," Danny placed his hands on his hips, "Impress us."

"Spirits find it hard to work while I'm tied up like this," Shawn croaked. He hadn't anything to drink since the day before and this throat was dry. He licked his lips.

Danny surged forward and wrapped his hand around Shawn's neck, squeezing it tightly until Shawn had trouble breathing. "I suggest you entertain my brother before I decide to entertain myself with you, you don't really need ten fingers do you?" He whispered menacingly into Shawn's ear. Danny pulled his hand away and Shawn took in another deep breath.

Shawn took in Adam's appearance, looking for anything he could use though being beaten and tied up wasn't helping his concentration. He noticed the slight hint of food around his mouth and the grease on his fingers

"I see…" He tried to lift his hand to his temple but the tape wrapped around him stopped him from getting very far. "I see a clown…Ronald Macdonald?...You like a Big Mac and fries."

Adam jumped up and down excitedly, "Yes, yes!"

Shawn saw the grass stains on Adam's knees and the mud on his shoes, "You like to play sports….soccer?"

Adam laughed, "It's amazing!"

"I'm seeing something else," Shawn closed his eyes, "I'm seeing bars…chocolate?" He shook his head, "No that's not it…..bars of gold?" Danny's eyes widened at the thought of gold, "Nope that's not it either." Shawn opened it eyes and glared at Danny, "Prison bars are in your future." He finished with a smirk.

Danny's eyes flashed with anger, "You little-." He stormed out of the room and returned a second later with a baseball bat.

"Ohh," Adam sounded, "You're going to get it now."

"Adam, leave the room."

"But Danny!" He protested.

"Now!" The older brother ordered. Adam grumbled under his breath but did as he was told. Danny turned to Shawn. "I think you need to learn a few lessons."

"You know I wasn't all that attentive in school so if we could skip the lessons, that would be great." Danny swung the bat and it connected with Shawn's ribs. The air was pushed from his lungs and bit his lip from crying out.

"Lesson number one, I don't like smart mouths."

"How many lessons are there because I might need a pen and paper to write them down." Shawn knew he should stop when the bat connected with hit ribs again but something inside him couldn't help it. His brain and his mouth weren't connected and he always spoke before his brain could tell him to shut up.

"Lesson number two, I am in charge."

"At no point did I think Adam was in charge." Danny lifted a large boot and stamped down on Shawn's foot.

"Lesson number three, don't insult my brother." Danny didn't wait for a smart remark before he grabbed Shawn's left hand and pulled back two fingers until he heard them snap. Shawn cried out this time as the intense pain from his now broken fingers radiated up his arm.

Before Shawn could recover, the bat connected with his ribs for a third time and Shawn heard the crunch _yup, definitely broken_ he thought.

"Stop! Shawn shouted, "Please stop!"

"Why should I?"

Shawn panicked for a second, he needed a reason to keep him alive and he needed one quickly, "I'm no use to you dead." He blurted a second later.

"You're no use to me alive," Danny replied. "I could kill you and police would'not know until it was too late"

"I'm psychic remember, I can predict the future. I can help you."

Danny considered it for a moment, "Why would you help us?"

"You get your money and then you let me go."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You'll go to the police, give them our description," he guessed.

"You'll be long gone by then, with two million dollars you can hide and never be found!"

Danny lifted the bat up and Shawn flinched, Danny smiled at the fear "You play us and I will kill you." Shawn nodded. "Okay, what do you need?"

"A phone call… put the police on the phone and I'll be able to read their minds, tell you what they're thinking."

Danny turned away from Shawn and walked to the work bench, he placed the bat on the top. And let it roll away. He picked up something else and turned back to Shawn. It was a cell phone. "Okay, what's the number?"


	6. Chapter 6

Gus placed the hot mug of coffee into Henry's hands. He received a small nod of thanks. The pair stood on the steps outside the station looking out onto Santa Barbara.

"It's not great coffee," Gus said, "But it'll hit the spot."

Henry took a sip of the black liquid. "Better than it used to be," he noted.

"Shawn loves the stuff."

"He's got enough energy without him adding caffeine to the mix," Henry snorted. The pair fell into a silence, neither one willing to speak first.

"This is all my fault," Gus finally caved.

Henry frowned and turned to the man, "What makes you say that?"

"I shouted at him," Gus shrugged, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"So did I," Henry reasoned, "If anyone's to blame, it should be me."

He winced as he remember all the bad things he'd said to Shawn, and the look on Shawn face as he had said them. He'd managed to build up a pretty strong tolerance when it came to Shawn, you needed the patience of a saint and Gus was no saint but very occasionally it didn't matter how much patience he had. "Yeah, but you two fight all the time. I think I actually hurt Shawn's feelings, he was running because of me and he got kidnapped because he stopped off at some deserted gas station. That wouldn't have happened if I had just kept my cool," Gus hung his head.

"And then the kidnappers would have kidnapped someone else, someone who isn't as strong as Shawn….look, maybe we're both to blame."

"The kidnappers are to blame," a third voice said sternly. Gus and Henry turned round and met Detective Lassiter. He stepped up to Henry. "We've both seen kidnap victim's families consumed with guilt, don't let it get to you two," he said before stepping back.

"I apologise for my earlier comment," he said, sounding like the chief had ordered him to apologise. "Sometimes when it comes to Spencer I just can't help speaking my mind," he added. He wasn't a man who gave a lot away but just because he wasn't Shawn's number one fan didn't mean he liked the idea of him tied up and bleeding somewhere.

"That's something you two have in common," Henry commented. "Come on Gus." Henry and Gus brushed past Lassiter and re-entered the building.

"You try anything funny and I'll break the other eight fingers," Danny warned as he pressed call. He turned it on hands free and then held it out towards Shawn. Shawn perked up slightly as the phone was answered.

"Burton Guster." Shawn could hear the weariness in his voice and Shawn wondered if Gus had gotten any sleep since his kidnapping.

"Detective Guster," Shawn replied.

"Shawn?"

"Yes _detective, _it's me."

Gus had only just stepped back into the building as his phone rang. He sighed and searched around in his jacket pocket for the ringing object. He flipped open the phone, pressed answer and placed it against his ear.

"Burton Guster," he answered wearily. He wasn't in the mood for any phone calls, especially if they were work wondering where he was.

"Detective Guster."

Gus frowned, _it couldn't be,_ "Shawn?" Henry's head whipped round as Gus spoke.

"Yes _detective, _it's me." _Detective? _Gus wondered, why was Shawn calling him detective? The pair burst into the chief's office and Gus put his phone on hands free for everyone to listen.

"Shawn, how are you doing?"

"Oh fine, a couple of broken fingers, some cracked ribs, nothing to worry about." Henry's heart nearly stopped as Shawn tried to downplay his injuries.

"Where are you?" Gus asked.

"Sorry, can't tell you that."

"Who took you?"

"Can't tell you that either."

"What can you tell us?" Lassiter asked, no one had heard him enter the room.

"That the kidnappers mean business, if they don't get what they want, they will kill me." The group heard a voice in the background telling him to hurry up. "Can you tell my dad something?"

"I'm right here, kiddo," Henry spoke up.

"I don't know when or if…," he stopped speaking and Henry rubbed his eyes, finding it hard to keep himself together, "…Those photos you wanted are on the camera."

Henry frowned, "What photos?"

"What are you doing?" The voice in the background asked.

"Check the camera!" he shouted. They all flinched as they heard Shawn cry out in pain and then the only sound in the room was the dial tone.

"What was he talking about?" Gus asked Henry "What camera?"

Henry shrugged, "I have no idea." He shook his head.

"Wait." Everyone turned to look at Lassiter. "The security camera."

"We checked the camera," Juliet spoke up for the first time, "There was nothing."

"The gas station camera, yes, but not the traffic camera down the road."

"But who knows how many cars went down that road yesterday," Juliet argued.

"It must have been pretty light traffic around the time of the kidnapping; otherwise someone would have seen something. From the gas station camera, we know what time Shawn was kidnapped, all we have to do is see what car passed the camera just after, that'll be our perps." Everyone looked at him in surprise. "What? Is Spencer the only one allowed a good idea?" He asked

Karen stood up from her desk "Well, what are you waiting for?" Lassiter and Juliet nodded and practically ran back to their desks.


	7. Chapter 7

"That was stupid," Danny hissed as he hung up the phone and threw it aside. Shawn was still gasping from his punishment. "I told you not to try anything!" He shouted as he punched Shawn again. Shawn's lip split and blood poured down his chin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shawn managed to say as his lip swelled. His face had become a patchwork of bruises, blood and swollen skin, his left eye was black and almost completely swollen shut. The blood from the cut above his eye had dried and his face itched.

"You think I'm going to fall for that?" He asked. He wrapped his hands around Shawn's neck and squeezed. He leant forwards and whispered into Shawn's ear, "You will pay for your mistakes. You make any more, Santa Barbara will be paying for your mistakes too." Danny let go and stepped away.

"You…want ..to know?" Shawn asked through wheezing breaths.

"Know what?"

"I read…their minds," Shawn stared at Danny. "They know nothing….they don't know where we are."

Danny nodded, "Good."

"Doesn't mean they're going to… give in to your demands."

"Then they'll have a lot of blood on their hands."

"No," Shawn shook his head, "you will." Shawn watched Danny walk to the nearest surface and gripped the edge with both hands. He leant hard on the wood and hung his head.

"Don't think you'll be able to talk your way out, my mind has been made up."

"Okay," Shawn backed down. Danny lifted his head and turned back around "How about some food," Shawn spoke up.

"What?"

"I don't know how long I've been here. I didn't each much the day you grabbed me and I'm starving, any chance of some food? Maybe a drink?"

"Why should I?"

Shawn whimpered in frustration. He was tired, hungry, tied up, beaten and bloody and the fate of most of Santa Barbara lay in his hands. All he was asking for was a little water and a sandwich. "Please," he begged, "Please."

Danny relented. "Fine…Adam!" Danny shouted. Adam appeared round the doorway a moment later.

"Yes Danny?"

"Watch him," he ordered, "What ever you do, don't untie him or give him anything. He's got a smart mouth so don't listen to a word he says."

Adam shook his head and then changed it into a nod, "I promise."

"Okay," Danny gave his brother a slap on the shoulder. "I'll be back in five," Danny gave one last warning glare to Shawn before striding out the room.

"So…Adam," Shawn began.

The young man stuck his fingers in his ears, "La la la la la, I'm not listening!" He sung.

"Oookay."

The pair waited in silence for the brains of the operation to return. Ten minutes later, Shawn heard the van pull up to the building and footsteps signalling Danny's return. He entered the room with a paper bag and pulled out a soda cup.

"Drink," he ordered and he pushed the straw towards Shawn's mouth. Shawn sucked up the cool drink and then winced as the fizzy drink stung the cut on his lip. He sucked down as much as he could before Danny pulled the cup away.

"Thank you."

Danny ignored Shawn and pulled out a cheeseburger, he unwrapped it from its greasy paper and held it towards Shawn. Shawn leant forward and took a large bit of the burger and chewed on it furiously. He swallowed and then leant forward for another bite. He managed two other bites before Danny pulled the burger away and threw it away. He then handed the bag to Adam and Shawn watched in silence as the pair ate their own food.

"Why?" Shawn asked as they finished.

Danny scrunched up the paper bag and put it in the trash "Why what?" He questioned.

"Why the bomb?"

"Why not?"

"People don't just blow up a city without a motive."

"Maybe the money's my motive."

"The money is your compensation," Shawn said incisively. "What did Santa Barbara do to you?"

"Why do you care?"

"I want to know, need to know why I'm here," he explained.

Danny stood from his seat and pointed to his brother, "He is the reason."

"I don't understand."

"Our parents died in a car crash when I was seventeen. The city decided I couldn't look after him and they took him away from me. Took me five years to track him and down and convince everyone that I was capable of looking after him….by then Adam wasn't himself anymore, withdrawn, quiet, cried himself to sleep," Danny turned to watch his oblivious younger brother. "It has taken years to get him back to a semblance of what he was before our parent's deaths."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want your pity!" Danny snapped. "I never asked for anyone's pity!...I vowed the people that split us up would pay and now they will."

"No!" Shawn shouted back, "Innocent women and children will die! People that have never heard of you will die and for what?"

"Shut up!" Danny pulled his hand back and slapped Shawn across the face.

"How did you do it?" Shawn asked without hesitation. "The bomb?"

"I did a college course in engineering, wasn't hard to find out how to make a bomb online," Danny explained begrudgingly.

"So let me get this straight, you ruin hundreds if not thousands of lives when you set off that bomb, then you ruin your and your brothers lives, running for the rest of your lives."

"It won't be like that!"

"Why not?"

"We'll have the money."

Shawn laughed, "You really think they're going to give you that money? They'll let me die before that happens."

Danny stepped towards Shawn, "For your sake, I hope not."


	8. Chapter 8

"Got it!" Juliet waved the video tape as she walked into the chief's office which still occupied Henry, Gus, Lassiter and the chief sitting at her desk. She pushed the tape into the video player and pressed play. For the second time, the group watched the screen.

"Okay," Juliet picked up the remote and fast forwarded. "From the camera at the gas station, we know that Shawn was taken just after half three." She stopped the tape when the time code in the corner said 3:30 and pressed play. Everyone watched the empty road, no cars driving past until a couple of minutes later.

"There!" Gus cried as a van drove past. Juliet paused the tape quickly. Gus stood from his seat and walked towards the screen. "Shawn's in that van," he said.

"At least we know he's still in Santa Barbara," Lassiter piped up, "That road goes into town."

"That's only reduced our search to 41 square miles," Henry huffed, crossing his arms.

"It's a start," Karen interjected before a fight broke out between her old friend and head detective. "Let's run the number plate on that van, that'll reduce our search even more"

"On it," Lassiter spoke. He scribbled down the number plate on his notepad and walked out the office. "Coming, O'Hara?" He called. Juliet patted Gus on the shoulder as she moved passed him and joined Lassiter at his desk.

"Now we have the number plate, we have a much better chance of finding him," Karen began.

"You and I both know that this isn't going to end well, whatever happens," Henry replied.

Gus frowned at the resigned tone in Henry's voice, "What are you talking about?"

"If we find the bomb first, Shawn's chances are slim. If we find Shawn first, chances of the bomb going off rise," Henry explained.

"Are you saying that even if we found Shawn, we might not be able to rescue him unless we pay the kidnappers, which you're not going to do because you don't negotiate?" Henry and Karen said nothing, which said a lot more to Gus than words.

"How can you-," Gus shook his head. "If it were you or me….," he directed at Henry, "Shawn would find a way…to save you and the city….Shawn would find away."

"I'm not Shawn, Gus."

"No, you're not."

"Gentlemen please," Karen interrupted, "This isn't helping."

Gus opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when his cell rang. "Hello?" He answered.

"Ah," a voice replied, "This must be Detective Guster."

Gus frowned, "Who is this?" Henry and Karen looked up.

"I'm the one who has your psychic," Gus's eyes widened and he mouthed _kidnapper. _

Karen rose from her desk. "Keep him on the phone," she whispered as she went to get someone to trace the call.

"What do you want?" Gus asked.

"My money….account number 4829012. Once the money has been wired into the account, I will let the psychic go with the location of the bomb. If I don't get the money in the next two hours, you can say goodbye to him and most of Santa Barbara," Gus didn't notice the chief re-enter the room and sit back down at her desk.

"Let me talk to him. Let me talk to Shawn."

"He's not available at this precise moment."

"What have you done to him?"

"Just taught him a few lessons."

Gus shivered when the man laughed. "Leave him-," Gus stopped when he heard the dial tone. He sighed as he shut the phone. "We have two hours to wire him the money….or he kills Shawn"

Henry rubbed a hand over his scalp. "Two hours," he repeated. In two hours his only son could be dead. He couldn't bare thinking about his last conversation with his son, knowing how guilty he would feel if Shawn died and never got to know how proud Henry was of him. His thoughts were interrupted when Juliet burst into the room, this time waving a single piece of paper.

"Daniel Jordan, aged twenty eight, owns a white Ford van, licence plate 2DTB9991, no parents, one brother, Adam Jordan, aged twenty three," Juliet babbled excitedly.

"Residences?"

Juliet shook her head "Don't know yet, Carlton's looking as we speak," She explained.

"Good work detective," Karen praised the younger woman. Everyone turned around when Buzz rapped on the nearest doorpost. "Yes?"

"Phone call was traced to a burger joint, a Flippy's burger place. It's a couple of miles from the gas station when Shawn's bike was found," he explained, handing over the information.

"This is good." She stood again and moved out of her office to the map of Santa Barbara pinned up on the wall. "McNab, pen," she ordered. He jogged back to his desk and grabbed the nearest black marker. "Okay," she spoke as Buzz handed the marker over. "His bike was found here." She marked a big black X over the location of the gas station "And the burger joint is…" She looked at the piece of paper quickly "Here." She added a second X not too far from the gas station. "The kidnappers aren't going to venture far from where they are holding Shawn so…" She drew a circle around the two X's "I'm guessing Shawn's somewhere here."

"Glad you remembered something I taught you," Henry commented from behind her.

She smirked, "Hard to forget…O'Hara, does this burger joint have security cameras?"

"I'll find out" She replied, leaving the group and heading back to her desk.

Ten minutes later she motioned for everyone to join her at her desk. "The burger place has suffered from vandalism quite a bit this year, so upped it's security. Three cameras, one inside, one in the drive thru and one in the car park. There's a payphone in the car park which is the one Daniel Jordan used." She motioned to her computer screen. "The company emailed me today's video," she explained. She clicked on something and brought up the video. "There's the van," she pointed at the white van in the car park, "and there's the payphone." They watched as a figure walked up to the pay phone, spent five minutes talking on the phone before hanging up and walking towards the restaurant. Juliet clicked on a second video "Daniel enters the restaurant," she explained and everyone watched the back of a figure walk towards the counter and order food.

"Do we know what he ordered?" Karen asked.

"Three burgers, three sodas," she answered.

"So we are either dealing with three kidnappers who like to watch a starving man suffer or two, slightly more compassionate kidnappers," the chief surmised.

"Two," Henry spoke. Everyone looked at him questioningly. "My son can talk people into most things; getting food for him is one of 'em," he explained. Gus thought about the amount of food Shawn had the police bring him when he was at PD bugging the chief for a case and smiled.

"Okay, two kidnappers, one white van. Lassiter? Found anything?"

He nodded, "Finally, Daniel Jordan's late uncle left him an electrical shop," Lassiter moved back towards the map and picked up the marker. "Here." He left a black dot at the location.

"It's in the circle," Gus commented.

"As far as we know it's abandoned, hasn't been used as a shop since Jordan's uncle died five years ago. There's also a large workshop at the back."

"That's it," Gus cried, "That's where Shawn is!"


	9. Chapter 9

Shawn watched Danny carefully as he came into the room, his left hand grasping a laptop bag. Danny lifted the bag onto the nearest work surface and unzipped it. The laptop was opened and switched on.

"Where is it?" Shawn asked. Danny gave him a look but said nothing, "I'm serious, where is it?"

Danny sighed, "Where is what?" He began typing something into the computer.

Shawn rolled his eyes, "What do you think I'm talking about?"

"The bomb?"

"No, DB Cooper's money, of course the bomb!" Danny glared at Shawn. "Where did you put the bomb? Had to be somewhere busy…the airport? Train station?"

Danny narrowed his eyes at Shawn suspiciously, "Why do you want to know so bad?"

"Why won't you tell me?" Shawn countered. The pair stared at each other, neither willing to tear their eyes away first. Finally Shawn backed down, "Doesn't matter if you tell me before you get the money or not; either you do and I go tell the bomb squad where to go or you don't and you kill me."

Danny thought about it for a second before answering. "It's at El Paseo shopping mall," he said.

Shawn's eyebrows rose into his forehead, "Do you know how many people will be killed?"

"It's not my problem," Danny said, turning back to the laptop.

Shawn couldn't believe what Danny had just said. "Not your problem, not your problem?" he asked, his voice rose until he was shouting. "How is your bomb killing hundreds, if not thousands of people, not your problem?"

Danny spun back around to face Shawn, "Shut up or I'll do it for you!" Shawn opened his mouth to speak but closed it again quickly, when Danny raised a hand to him. "Better to be seen and not heard, your parents ever tell you that?"

"They were too busy arguing," Shawn replied.

"They divorced?" Shawn nodded, "you have any brothers or sisters?"

Shawn swallowed. "One, a brother," he answered,

"You close?"

"Yeah, I mean we were…lately...I'm not so sure anymore."

"Would you do anything for him?"

"You mean would I kill for him?" Shawn thought about it. If Gus were hurt of course he would hunt down the person that had hurt him, but kill? He looked up at Danny. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

"You'll never know what it's been like for us, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him."

"You're right, I don't," Shawn agreed.

"Good, now keep quiet while I set this up." He turned back to the laptop again.

"What is it?"

"The arming sequence."

Shawn raised an eyebrow, "Already? When…when is it set to go off?"

"Just over an hour."

Shawn started to panic as reality set in. Over an hour from now he could be dead. He licked his lips nervously, "Wait, that's not enough time."

Danny snorted, "Enough time for what?"

"To say goodbye, I need to say goodbye to some people."

"Tough."

Shawn hung his head and steadied his breathing, trying not to care that Danny wasn't going to let him say goodbye to people. What would he say to Gus or his dad anyway? Sorry for being such a nuisance in their lives? "Okay," he mumbled, "Okay." He said a little louder. "How do I do it?"

"Do what?" Danny asked.

"Find the bomb at the mall and disarm it."

"It's in a bag in the back store room of Reese's Jewelery."

"And?"

"Just put in the 14 number disarm code."

"Which is?"

"Same as the arming code, but backwards."

"Okay, what's the arming code?" Danny said nothing,. "Come on! What's the code!"

Danny checked his watch "Time's up," he said. Shawn watched as Danny entered fourteen numbers into the computer. A second later a green digital clock appeared on the screen and started counting down from 60 minutes.

As soon as it started counting down Danny closed the computer lid and began packing everything away. "Adam!" he shouted, "Get your stuff together! We're leaving!"

"What?" Shawn asked in surprise, "Where are you going?"

Danny shrugged. "Canada, heard Vancouver's nice this time of year," he said before laughing.

"What about the money and the bomb? What about me?"

Danny stepped towards Shawn and leant into his personal space. "We both know that no-one was going to pay the money, the city will never learn if they don't get punished, just like you," Danny pushed his hand into Shawn's broken ribs and Shawn gasped.

"You were always going to set the bomb off, weren't you?"

"Good guess, psychic."

"You run, the police will find you. I will find you."

"No, you'll be dead," Danny corrected, "Stuck here with no food or water, no one around to hear you scream. You'll be dead in days."

Shawn's eyes widened. "Please," he begged, "Don't do this."

"Too late," he stood up straight, "Enjoy your last few days."

"No!" Shawn shouted as Danny walked away. Shawn turned his head as far as it could go to watch Danny leave the room, "Don't leave me here! Come back here! Don't do this!" He kept shouting until his voice was hoarse but it didn't matter, Danny and Adam were long gone.

"Fifty eight," he whispered to himself. "Fifty seven," he said a minute later. "Fifty six…"


	10. Chapter 10

Lassiter put his foot on the break and the car came to a sudden halt, yanking everyone forward. He turned off the engine and pulled off his sunglasses.

"That it?" Henry asked. He peered out the window at the line of abandoned shop fronts, dusty cobwebbed windows and signs with cracked paint and missing letters told the group that no-one had been in the area for a while.

"Yeah," Lassiter replied.

"Which one?"

Lassiter pointed, "That one," The shop he was pointing at looking was no different from the others. It was dark inside the building and Henry wondered if his son was even there. The doubt inside him built as Gus spoke.

"How do we even know he's here? What if we're wrong?"

"We're not," Lassiter said firmly.

"What if-"

Lassiter cut him off, "We'll never know if we stay here, will we?" He grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open. He didn't wait for the rest as he strode towards the building, hand on his gun at his waist just in case. Juliet had rushed after him and Henry and Gus stayed back and watched. The detectives jogged to the front of the building, pressing their backs to the wall and pulling their guns. Lassiter slowly peered into the nearest window. He turned back and nodded to Juliet. Gus and Henry watched as Lassiter turned to face the door, lifted his leg up and kicked to the door hard. The old door splinted on impact and practically swung off its hinges. Lassiter and Juliet rushed through the opening and disappeared into the darkness.

"Fifty," Shawn whispered. His hope diminished as each minute disappeared. There was no reason to think that anyone would find him in time. "Fourty ni-," he didn't finish. A sudden loud bang had him whipping his head round trying to find the source of the noise. "He…Hello?" He called. "Hello?" He shouted a little louder.

"Spencer?" A voice called back.

Shawn felt a large weight lifted off his shoulders and he laughed, "Lassie!" A second later Lassiter and Juliet strode into the room.

"Oh god," Juliet spoke as she caught sight of Shawn. She ran towards him. "Are you okay?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Just peachy," he replied sarcastically, "get me out of here quick. I've got a bomb to disarm!"

"Carton, hand me a knife and then go get some help," she ordered. Any other time he would have ignored her bossiness, but he didn't hesitate as he handed over his pocket knife and left the room.

Juliet cut up the tape holding Shawn to the chair and caught him as his weak body fell forward. He hissed as his sore limbs were released, and the new movement caused pain to his ribs. "Come on," she helped him to his feet, struggling to keep the man upright. She put his arm over her shoulders and put her own arm around his waist. "You can do this. Your dad and Gus are waiting right outside for you."

"Really?" He smiled.

"Would I lie to you?" She asked. "We'll get you to the car and off to the hospital before you can say pineapple smoothie."

Shawn shook his head, immediately regretting it. "No," he said through gritted teeth.

"No? No what?"

"Don't have ..time," The pair shuffled forward, "Need to get to….El Paeso shopping…mall." He sucked in a deep breath. The short walk to the door had tired him quickly. The pair carried on slowly down the dark corridor and into the shop front. Shawn winced as the bright light from the open doorway hurt his eyes. It hadn't been long since he was outside but for some reason it felt like years. He smiled as Henry and Gus rushed to the entrance and took Shawn from Juliet. Shawn put an arm over each of their shoulders and let them pull him towards the car.

"How are you doing, kiddo?" Henry asked.

"I'll live…..just glad you found me." Juliet had rushed ahead and opened the car door. Gus and Henry car full placed Shawn in the back seat, each taking a place beside him. Juliet and Lassiter slid into the front seats and Lassiter started the car. "Call the bomb squad," Shawn ordered, "Tell them to get to El Paeso shopping mall, that's where the bomb is." Juliet pulled her phone out and began to dial. "Lassie, don't even think about taking me to a hospital."

"Shawn," Henry warned

"No, Dad."

"Two of your fingers are sticking out at funny angles. You're holding your ribs. You're face is covered in dried blood and you're face is so swollen that people might mistake you for the elephant man."

"Don't sugar coat it, Dad."

"I'm serious Shawn. You're going to the nearest hospital and that's final!"

"In forty minutes, the bomb will explode and I am the only one who can disarm it safely. Now…tell me again where we're going?" Shawn stood his ground.

Henry sighed, "Fine…fine but as soon as the bomb is disarmed, _you_ are going straight to hospital young man."

Shawn rolled his eyes at his father, "Yes, Mom."

"Lassiter," Henry turned to the detective in the front, "You have lights and sirens for a reason."

"Right." He switched on the light and siren and zoomed down the road towards the shopping mall.

The car swerved into the mall's parking lot and pulled up to the entrance. A security guard was already heading their way, but a flash of Lassiter's badge made him back off. Henry helped Shawn out the car and wrapped his arm around his waist to hold his son up. The group entered the mall just in behind the bomb squad, who already had dogs out. The large dogs moved around the area sniffing bags and shoppers for any traces of the bomb.

"Detective." A man dressed up in full bomb gear walked up to Lassiter.

"Lieutenant," Lassiter nodded at the man.

"What do we have?"

"Ask him," Lassiter nodded his head towards Shawn.

Henry and Shawn stepped forward. "Reese's Jewelry store," Shawn informed the lieutenant. "There's a bag in the back room, inside is the bomb." The man nodded and began to walk away. "Wait!" Shawn shouted after him. The man stopped and turned back round, "I think..I mean..I can disarm it."

The man raised an eyebrow, "You think you can?" He asked skeptically.

"I know I can," Shawn answered firmly.

"Okay," the man nodded, "Let us check it out first and then we'll let you have a look at it." Shawn nodded back.

Henry, Shawn, Gus, Juliet and Lassiter followed the squad to the jewelry store. The detectives helped clear the area. Henry helped Shawn to the nearest bench and Shawn sat down, glad for the rest.

"How are you doing?" Henry asked, concerned.

"I'll be better once this is all over."

Henry laid a comforting hand on Shawn's back, the only place Shawn wasn't hurting. "You did good, kid."

"Not yet, I haven't." Shawn lifted himself to his feet and took a moment to stop his head from spinning.

"Shawn," Henry stood next to his son and tried to keep him steady. A determined Shawn pushed his dad away.

"I'll..I'll just stay here." Shawn turned to look at Gus.

"Coward," Shawn smirked.

Gus pointed at the shop, "There's a bomb in there, Shawn!"

"Okay, okay, wish me luck."

Gus snorted, "Please, you have more luck that a field of four leaf clovers." Shawn smiled at Gus and then slowly made his way towards the shop., Henry not far behind.

"So?" Shawn asked at the lieutenant came out from the back room.

"We've found it," he confirmed, "And it was well made too, we try anything and it explodes."

"How much time left?"

"Six minutes."

Shawn swallowed hard, "Okay…I can do this." His eyes traveled towards Juliet, then moved onto Lassiter. The senior detective caught his look and nodded. Lassiter and Juliet joined them as they walked through the doorway into the dark room. Cardboard boxes were stacked up against the walls up to the ceiling and the dirty floor was covered in old receipts and bits of scrap paper. Hung on the coat stand on the corner were two jackets, employee's jackets, Shawn noted. At the end of the room stood two officers in full bomb gear standing next to an open duffel bag. As Shawn moved forward, he caught site of wires and computers bits holding large blocks of explosives together. A digital clock, identical to the one on Danny's laptop, was counting down and there was a single number pad on the front to enter the code.

"No pressure," he said as he watched the clock count down. "No pressure at all."


	11. Chapter 11

"Okay Spencer, what's the code?" Lassiter said from behind Shawn.

"14 numbers," he said quietly. He turned to his dad, "Help me down there?" Henry helped Shawn slowly to the ground and Shawn winced as his knees hit the concrete floor.

"You okay?" Henry asked.

"Will you stop asking me that?" Shawn snapped, regretting it an instant later, "Sorry dad, I'm just-"

"I know," Henry nodded, accepting the apology.

Shawn turned back to the bomb, "Okay…fourteen numbers, in the exact opposite order as the arming code."

"You saw him arm the bomb?" Henry asked. Shawn nodded. His hands hovered nervously over the bomb.

"How do we know what he told you was the truth? You stick in the wrong code and we all die"

"Don't you think he knows that?" Henry asked Lassiter.

"Just making sure he knows the risk he's taking here!"

"He's kneeling over a ticking bomb. I think he knows the risks. "

"Guys," Juliet tried but the two men ignored her.

"What if he gets one of the numbers wrong huh?"

"He won't!" Henry shouted.

"How can you be so sure of that!"

"I know my son, Detective!"

"Well I don't like the fact that all our lives are in the hands of Spencer!" Henry opened his mouth to retort but Shawn stopped him.

"Hey!" He shouted loud enough for both men to stop, and turn to look at him. "Stop fighting!...I can't do this with you fighting." As a guilty looking Lassiter took a step back, Henry took a step forward and crouched by his son.

"Come on, Shawn," Henry whispered into Shawn's ear, "You can do this, just focus."

"Focus," Shawn repeated, "I can do that."

"Good," Henry patted Shawn on the back carefully and then stood up. "Have they started evacuating the building?"

Lassiter nodded, "It's going to take a while, this place is pretty big."

Shawn tuned out the talking in the background and concentrated. He placed two fingers at his temples, closed his eyes tight and thought back to the moment Danny had armed the bomb.

"_Good, now keep quiet while I set this up." He turned back to the laptop again._

"_What is it?"_

"_The arming sequence." Shawn watched Danny press the 14 buttons. The nine first._

"Nine….it started with a nine," he whispered, "Nine…….five…….two……nine, six, four." He squinted harder as he fought to remember the next numbers.

Henry looked at the clock, three minutes left "Come on, Shawn, you can do this."

"Six…three, one, eight, eight, four…..seven….and five…okay," Shawn opened his eyes, "Five." His finger hovered over the keypad and finally he pressed five. He went through the numbers again, "Nine, five, two, nine, six, four, six, three, one, eight, eight, four, seven." He pressed seven.

"Two minute,s" Lassiter spoke up.

Henry glared at Lassiter. "He doesn't need a reminder," he said quietly so only Lassiter could hear him. "You're doing good, son," he said louder.

"Four….eight," he put in the next two numbers. "Nine, five, two, nine, six, four, six, three, one, eight," he said again.

Slowly, as the time diminished quickly, one minute, thirty seconds, one minute, forty seconds, thirty seconds. Shawn put in each number one by one. "Eight…one…three….," Twenty seconds.

"Come on," Lassiter said

"Six…four…," fifteen seconds. "Six…nine," ten seconds. "Two…five," five seconds.

"Come on!" Lassiter said again.

With two seconds to spare, Shawn put in the last number. "Nine," the bomb stopped immediately and everything shut down.

Lassiter looked at the disarmed bomb in disbelief and let out a huge sigh. Relief flooded the group and everyone smiled.

"I did it," Shawn said to himself. He looked up at his dad, "Help me up." Henry took hold of Shawn's arms and pulled him to his feet.

"You good?"

"Yeah," Henry let go of Shawn.

"Lieutenant!" Lassiter shouted, "It's all yours!"

The man re-entered the room and looked at the defused bomb. "Good job, kid," he nodded at Shawn.

"You're…" A sudden wave of dizziness stopped Shawn from finishing his sentence. Before anyone could catch him he fell to the floor.

"Shawn!" Henry knelt next do his son. He put one hand under his head and rested the other hand on Shawn's thigh. "He's unconscious."

"Call an ambulance!" Juliet shouted to the nearest police officer. "Now!"


	12. Chapter 12

Henry sat up straight in the very uncomfortable waiting room chair. His arms lay on the hard wooden arm rests and his feet lay flat on the generic linoleum floor. The fingers on his right hand tapped a random pattern into the arm rest and his eyes stared at the clock on the wall, which he knew was ten minutes behind. Nurses in salmon colored scrubs and patients attached to IV pole moved around him, but he didn't see any of them.

Juliet stood up, her arms crossed tightly in front of her. She switched her weight over from one foot to the other constantly as she watched the TV on mute. The news scrolled across the bottom of the screen as a blonde mouthed the headlines. Occasionally her eyes flitted across the room to the older man, sitting up straight in the uncomfortable waiting room chair.

Lassiter leaned against the wall, his right hand dug into his pants pocket. He stood by the window, watching the world outside, even though it was too dark to see anything. He didn't want to be here, he hated hospitals. Nurses gave him funny looks. Not to mention the smell of disinfectant, which he had hated ever since he cut himself badly playing cops and robbers with a friend when he was a child. He played the cop, of course. He could be out doing other more important things, cop things, but no. The chief had asked him to stay in case Spencer had anything more to tell them.

Henry's and Lassiter's heads whipped round at the sound of cell phone shrilling. Juliet pulled the offending object from her pocket and sent an apologetic look to the disapproving stare of the on duty nurse.

"O'Hara," she answered.

"O'Hara," the Chief's voice replied, "We've got a hit on the white van. A security camera at SB airport caught it driving into the short-term parking lot. I want you over there now."

"What about Lassiter?"

"I want him to stay there. Shawn Spencer still has vital information on his kidnappers. He's also still in danger while the kidnappers are at large."

Juliet nodded, "Understood." She flipped the phone shut and slipped it back in her pocket.

"That the chief?" Lassiter asked.

Juliet nodded, "They found the van. The Chief wants me over there"

Lassiter frowned, "Just you?"

"She still wants you to stay here."

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Fun," he said sarcastically.

Juliet made her way across the small waiting room to where Lassiter was standing. He handed over the car keys. "Keep me informed will you?" She asked.

Lassiter hesitated for a second before nodding, "You too."

Juliet made her way through the large parking lot and slid into the red police car. It didn't take her long to make her way to the airport. Two uniformed police officers and four airport security personnel waited at the entrance to the parking lot.

"Okay," she pulled the gun from her waist. "You two go around that way," she nodded to the uniforms, "We'll go round the front and surround the van." Everyone confirmed her orders with a nod and the group separated and moved towards the white van, with Juliet in the lead.

They reached the van and Juliet nodded to her backup. Two stood either side of Juliet, holding their guns up ready while the other two moved to the van doors. They each took hold of a door handle and when Juliet nodded again, the pair yanked the doors open.

Sitting cross legged in the back of the van was a young man. A large drawing pad sat on his lap and he whistled to himself as he drew. He didn't notice the sudden audience or the sudden burst of daylight that filled the van.

"Hey," Juliet put her gun away and stepped towards the van. The man stopped drawing and looked up at her. "You must be Daniel's brother," she guessed.

"Danny," he replied, "He likes to be called Danny."

"Okay," she nodded, "What do you like to be called?"

"My name," Adam answered, "Adam."

"Okay Adam. Do you think you can get out of the van for me?"

"Why?"

"I need you to come with me."

"Where?"

"The police station," she answered.

"I don't know you. Danny always told me not to go anywhere with anyone I didn't know."

"That's okay, Adam," Juliet pulled her badge from her belt and showed it to the man, "I'm a police officer. It's okay to come with me."

Adam thought about it for a minute, "Can I bring my drawings?"

Juliet smiled, "Of course you can." Adam scrambled out of the van and Juliet helped him stand up straight as his feet touched the ground. He reached back in and grabbed his art pad. "Adam?"

"Yes?"

"Where's your brother?"

Adam shrugged, "I don't know…He told me to sit and wait for him. We were going to go on holiday!" He said excitedly.

"He didn't say anything about where he was going?"

Adam shook his head, "Said he was going to see a friend."

"A friend?"

"Said he hadn't said goodbye."

"To who?" Adam shrugged again. Juliet turned to the nearest police officer and frowned. She handed Adam over to the uniforms. "Take him to the station," she ordered, as she watched them take away the bomber's brother.

"You don't think?" She thought out loud. "I better phone Carlton just in case," she pulled her phone out.

Shawn's eye's fluttered open and instantly focused on a figure standing by the door.

"Hi Psychic," Danny greeted.


	13. Chapter 13

It was like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over him. Shawn shuffled as far back into his bed as he could, though the few inches did little difference.

"What, what are you doing here?" Shawn asked.

"Why do you think?" Danny stepped forward.

"I stopped your bomb," Shawn informed the man.

He nodded, "I know, I watched."

Shawn's eye's widened, "You were there?"

Danny trailed his fingers along the bed as he neared Shawn, "I was…..around."

"Well, I hope you got to watch as I ruined your big plans for the city."

Danny nodded, "I did and you will pay."

Shawn's eyes flicked toward the call button, "I think I've paid my dues." He looked back at Danny before the other man noticed.

"Funny," Danny looked up at the window, "I don't think you have."

Shawn seized the moment. With what little energy he had left he reached past Danny, aiming for the call button. Danny saw it out of the corner of his eye, before Shawn managed to press the button Danny gripped Shawn's wrist tightly and yanked it back. His other hand went around Shawn's neck and pushed him into the bed.

"Uh uh….We haven't finished talking yet," Danny hissed.

"What….do you…want?" Shawn asked through clenched teeth.

"I want to watch you suffer," Danny answered, "Problem is, there's a cop outside and I don't have a lot of time…..You ruined everything psychic!" Danny held him tighter and Shawn gasped as Danny took away his air.

"You're….welcome," Shawn croaked.

Danny ripped his hands away and Shawn sucked in a deep gasping breath. "Don't think you need that," Danny grabbed the IV and pulled hard. The needle was ripped from Shawn's hand. Shawn hissed as blood trickled from the wound and fluids trickled from the IV spreading over the floor.

Henry jumped from his seat as the doctor walked toward him. The doctor, in the usual white coat and stethoscope had thinning grey hair and hid his wrinkling eyes behind a pair of think rimmed glasses. The doctor held his hand out and Henry shook it.

"I'm Doctor Price," he introduced himself.

"Henry Spencer. How's my son?" He asked, getting straight down to business.

Price nodded, "Good, good, considering. He has a slight concussion, lucky considering the amount of hits he received to his head. We'll wake him every two hours just to make sure. We strapped up his two broken fingers, he shouldn't have any future problems with them. As for his ribs, two were broken and another two had slight fractures. They are all quite severely bruised, looks like someone took a baseball bat to his chest. They've been wrapped up and he's on pain medication, nothing too strong because of his concussion. He won't be able to do anything strenuous for a while and I suggest he rests for at least three weeks, maybe longer."

"Thanks, doc."

"We'll keep him for a couple of days, just in case."

Henry frowned, "In case of what?"

"We checked for internal injuries but sometimes, we miss things. We just want to make sure. We also want to keep an eye of his concussion-"

"Just in case," Henry guessed.

Price nodded, "Exactly, he's awake if you want to go see him."

"Thanks."

Price nodded and smiled, "You're very welcome, it's room 214."

Henry turned to Lassiter, "So? What's the verdict?" Lassiter asked.

"He's fine," Henry replied.

"Lucky bast-" Lassiter stopped as Henry raised an eyebrow.

"He'll need a lot of rest and recuperation, but he'll be back to himself in no time." Henry explained.

"Shawn Spencer? Rest?"

"I know, I know, he makes the worst patient ever. Won't lay still, tries to push things too fast, always tries to sign himself out AMA . I swear, he could be bleeding out in a trauma room and he'd still say he was fine and try and escape." Lassiter snorted. "And I'm the one that has to try and keep him from doing anything stupid while he recuperates. It's hard enough when he's healthy, try doing it when he's so doped up on medication he thinks his name is Gerald."

"I do not envy you…..so," Lassiter started as he noticed the psychic's father glued to the spot. "You going to go see him?"

"Sure," Henry nodded, "In a minute."

Lassiter's phone began to ring "Ookay." He dug in his jacket pocket for his phone and pressed answer. "Detective Lassiter."

"It's me," Juliet answered.

"O'Hara, how did it go?"

"We have Daniel Jordan's younger brother-"

"What about Jordan?" Lassiter interrupted.

"Nowhere to be found. The entire Airport has been checked but there's no sign of him."

"What did the brother say?"

"Just that he had some unfinished business with a friend."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling. What if his unfinished business is Shawn?"

"O'Hara, I've been outside the whole time."

"Will you please just check?" She asked.

"Fine," he agreed a moment later. He hung up the phone and turned back to Henry, who still hadn't moved from the spot. Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Come on."

"What?"

"O'Hara, wants me to check on Spencer. Looks like I'm coming with you." The pair began walking toward Shawn's hospital room.

"Don't think you're going to get away," Shawn told him as he pressed his good hand over the wound.

"Oh, I think I will. The police don't know where I am. Adam's waiting for me at the airport, and then we'll be gone."

"You tried to blow up the city. You think the police'll give up once you board a flight out of here? If you think that, then you don't know Detective Lassiter."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Tell me where he lives, I'll build another bomb."

"Well, as enticing as that sounds I'll have to say…get the hell out of my room!" He shouted.

"Keep your panties on psychic. I'm going. I have a plane to catch," Danny laughed. "Watch your back Psychic," he warned Shawn. Danny turned around opened the door and was instantly greeted by two very angry men, one of them holding a gun.

"You should take your own advice, Danny," Shawn smirked.

A large hand landed on Danny's shoulder, pulled him out of the room and pushed him up against the nearest wall. "You kidnapped and beat my son!" Henry shouted.

"Mr. Spencer," Lassiter warned.

"I'll kill you!"

"Dad!" Henry didn't notice his son ripping the bed covers away, pushing past the pain as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stumbled ungracefully towards his dad. Henry made a fist and pulled it back, ready to punch the man that had taken and beaten up his son. He fist stopped when a weak hand gripped his bicep. Henry looked Shawn, white as a sheet but standing his ground.

"Please, he's not worth it," Shawn told him. A moment later Henry's arm fell and Shawn pulled his hand away. "Take him," he said to Lassiter.

Lassiter took Danny away from Henry, pulling his hands behind his back and cuffing his hands together tightly. "Tight enough for ya?" Lassiter asked before pushing Danny down the hallway.

"Thanks," Shawn spoke.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed," Henry ordered. Shawn took a step forward and stumbled. Henry managed to catch him in time and led him slowly towards the bed. As Shawn lifted himself onto the bed, Henry picked up Shawn's feet and swung them over onto the bed then pulled the covers back over his son. "Nurse!" He shouted.

Shawn winced at the volume "There's a call button, you know."

A nurse appeared a second later "You tore your IV out," she admonished as she began to fix it.

"No," he shook his head, "I didn't."

"He hurt you?" Henry asked as soon as the nurse had left.

Shawn rubbed his neck, "No…no he didn't hurt me."

"Good."

"What happens next?" Shawn asked.

"Well, he'll be charged, the younger brother too probably."

Shawn shook his head, "Adam's mentally slow, there's no way he had any part in all of this."

"Well then, he'll probably end up in some sort of care home."

"Good."

"And you-" Henry began.

"What about me?"

"You'll be here for a couple of days." Shawn opened his mouth to speak but Henry stopped him. "And no earlier!" He said sternly. "Then you'll come back to my place for at least two weeks where I can make sure you're actually resting."

"Okay, but I want pineapple everyday, fresh, none of that tinned crap, and I want a TV in my old bedroom. I don't want to die of boredom. I don't want to go on any fishing trips. I don't even want hear anything about fishing let alone cut up any of your stinky catches and no and I mean no waking me up at god awful hours. I like my sleep."

"How on earth did we manage to live together for seventeen years?"

"Beats me."


	14. Chapter 14

Last chapter - thanks to everyone for their wonderful reviews. I have another story ready to write so watch out for it.

* * *

Henry stepped out of the truck, slammed the door behind him and tucked the newspaper under his arm. He strode down the driveway, past a parked blue car that wasn't there when he left and made his way into the house. It had been a couple of days since Shawn was well enough to go back to his own place and Henry had never been so glad to have the house to himself again, so the unexpected arrival of Gus' car was intriguing.

"Shawn?" He called out. He dropped his keys in the bowl by the front door and dumped the newspaper on the kitchen table. "Gus?" He tried when he received no answer to the first inquiry. His head tilted upwards at a shuffling sound. He jogged up the stairs and the sound got louder.

"Shawn?" He called again.

"Up here!" A voice called. Henry turned the corner and frowned at the sight of the ladder protruding from the attic. He grabbed the rungs of the ladder and slowly made his way up into the attic, ignoring the protests from his aging limbs.

"Shawn," Henry called again, unable to spot his son amongst the junk. A second later, Shawn's head popped up from behind a stack of boxes.

"Hi Dad," his son greeted cheerfully.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" Henry asked.

Shawn came round the corner with a large box in his arms and dropped it at Henry's feet. "Doing what you asked," he replied, "Getting rid of my stuff for you. Although I have idea why. What are you going to with the extra space? Put _more_ crap up here?"

"Shawn, just because you were well enough to go home, doesn't mean your ribs are up to lugging heavy boxes around!"

"I don't _lug,_" Shawn said, "and my ribs are fine."

"Oh yeah? What about your fingers?" Henry eyed the broken fingers, still strapped together.

Shawn looked at his father as if he was crazy. "I have eight others that work perfectly fine," He answered. He rolled his eyes at his father's over protectiveness and disappeared around the pile of boxes again to grab another box. Henry narrowed his eyes when Shawn re-appeared with gritted teeth and a frown.

"Okay," Henry took the box off his son and placed it on the floor next to the last one. "No more," he ordered.

"I'm fine!" Shawn argued.

"Yeah, and I'm a psychic," Henry retorted.

"You never know, could be genetic," Shawn replied.

Henry rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He sat down on the nearest box and sighed. "Will you sit?" He asked, unable to stand Shawn towering over him. Shawn flopped down onto the opposite box. "You didn't have to do this, you know."

Shawn frowned in confusion, "You asked me to do it."

"Yes, but that was when you weren't bandaged up, drugged up and recovering from a kidnapping."

"I'm the last person you need to remind about that," Shawn winced.

"Look, the point is I shouldn't have gotten angry about all this stuff in the first place, you driving in bad weather-"

"-Me thinking you're the devil. Yeah I remember the conversation Dad and for the record? I don't think you're the devil."

Henry nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry."

Shawn looked up at his dad in surprise, "Did you just say you were sorry?" He looked around, "Is hell freezing over?"

Henry stood up. "Why do you make it so hard for me to apologize to you?" He asked. He started down the ladder to the first floor and he heard Shawn follow him.

"Because I have no idea why you think you need to apologize to me," Shawn replied.

Henry stopped and looked at his son as he finished descending the ladder, "Shawn, you ran because of our fight."

"I wasn't running," Shawn told him as the pair descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen, "I was gonna go up to Frisco for a couple of weeks. It's called a vacation."

"A vacation where you disappear without telling anyone that you're leaving, let alone where you are going?" Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Gus was pissed at me, you were pissed at me, who was I going to tell?"

"You could have left a message Shawn, anything but you didn't. So stop trying to make excuses for the fact that you were running."

"Okay," Shawn fell into the nearest chair, "but I didn't leave because of our fight. If I did, I'd be leaving once a week"

Henry frowned as he handed a glass of juice to Shawn and took a sip from his own glass. He sat down in the chair opposite Shawn, "Is that what you think?"

"Come on Dad, when _don't_ we argue?"

"How about right now?"

"Well that's only because you've never been able to shout at me when I'm injured."

Henry frowned again, "Since when?"

"That time when I drove Jimmy Saunders bike off the roof of his garage and broke my leg? You were so pissed at me for being so stupid, but you didn't raise your voice at me until the cast came off."

"Shawn, you had a compound fracture and needed surgery. I was just glad you were alive."

Shawn snorted. "You and me both," he replied, rubbing his leg.

Henry changed the subject, "How's things between you and Gus?"

Shawn nodded. "Good," he answered, "He's feeling really guilty, won't stop buying me smoothies."

"I wondered why he let you borrow his car."

Shawn sighed, "It won't last." He gulped down the rest of the drink before standing up. "Well, I should finish with those boxes."

"Shawn!"

"What?"

"_I'll_ bring the boxes over to your place later today."

"You sure?"

Henry stood up, "Get out of here before I change my mind."

Shawn smiled, "You don't have to tell me twice." He started towards the door.

"Shawn?" Shawn turned back around to look at his dad. "Maybe we should work on arguing less," He said with a half shrug, digging his hands into his jeans' pockets.

Shawn grinned, "I'd like that." Henry nodded. Shawn nodded back before turning to the door and leaving.


End file.
